OHE December 7, 1998 (Pu'u Ma'i)

On Sunday, December 6th, my friend and I returned to one of our
favorite trails for a special outing. I won't bore by describing the
short hike as I usually do since there have been countless write-ups about
it. I will, however, mention a few details that made this particular trek
different.

It was between 5:30 AM and 5:45 AM when we reached the "west-entry"
trailhead - the Job Corps building fronting the partially buried railroad
tracks. Gathering our gear together, we put flashlights in hand and I
snapped on a 6-inch cylumine (sp!) glow-stick. I originally planned to
use the light-stick to follow the trail but found the moonlit path easy to
see.

Once my eyes had become adapted to the darkness surrounding the
lamp-less mountain (after I had been driving for about 45 minutes through
Honolulu's city lights), I realized it was bathed in an extreme moonlight
glow. One could actually see the sinister-looking shadows cast by the
silent clouds racing overhead. The cooling breezes were frigid to my
sweat-beaded skin, but helped my friend and I keep plodding at a steady
pace. I eventually hooked the green-glowing lightstick to my Platypus
pack so that my friend could spot my progress ahead on the tracks. I kept
my flashlight pocketed for most of the climb, with the exception of an
occasional flash to thwart my overactive imagination (aka hallucinations).

The glowing clouds spotted from between the trees at the top of the
tracks developed an eerie apparition standing at the head of the tracks,
its pale dress seemingly swaying in the wind. I began thinking of the
faraway (I hoped!) "Pupukea Lady", but realized that my annoying
imagination often conjures up bizzare sightings (i.e. the man with the
rifle on Kamaileunu Ridge (see write-up dated 29NOV98)). When I got to
the top and banked to the right to follow an easier clearing through the
brush to the heli-pad, an owl suddenly bolted from a branch within 10 feet
of my face and into the darkness.

We reached the top shortly after 6 AM, contouring around to sit at
the north side of the heli-pad. With Kohelepelepe below, Kalama Valley to
the left, and Makapuu ahead, we watched silently. The sunrise wasn't as
spectacular as from Mokolii Island (see "Morning Drama, Mokolii Island"
dated 11OCT98) because of the heavily overcast conditions, but a
breath-taker nonetheless. Like a prism, the low clouds shattered the
sun's yellow thrust skyward into a dazzle of rays breaking above, below,
and to the sides of the cloud layer. It was heavenly...

On the jog down, we passed two couples: one at the bridge and another
at the "parking lot" requesting directions to the trailhead.
Unfortunately, our stay up there was a bit longer than I had planned and
by the time we reached the trailhead, it was 08:07. (I had planned to be
there by 07:00 to meet the TC carpool at Schofield-Waikane by 08:00!)
Hey, it gave us a good excuse to swing by Hawaii Kai Zippy's for a hardy
meal.

Looking forward to Dayle's write-up about
the rather wet, S-W Trail Clearing...